At a briefing, Georgia‘s president Salome Zourabichvili stated, ‘This law is Russian, and no amount of questioning in the vein of ‘What’s Russian about this law?’ will change that.‘ She announced her intention to veto the law without introducing any amendments. Advising the country’s authorities, if they decide to adopt the bill ‘On the Transparency of Foreign Influence’ [commonly referred to as the ‘foreign agents bill’ or simply the ‘Russian law’], she suggested implementing it after the [parliamentary] elections, starting November 1st.
Zourabichvili also remarked that the speech by prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze [on May 12th] is Russian, and ‘no one will return to this Russian state.’
Meanwhile, Georgia’s prime minister Irakli Kobakhidze declared at a special briefing that despite the ‘threat’ of US and European sanctions, authorities will still adopt the ‘Russian law.’
He shifted responsibility for any potential incidents during the planned protests on May 12-13 onto the so-called radical opposition, threatening severe punishment for participants. According to Kobakhidze, ‘crime will not go unpunished, and most likely Salome Zourabichvili will not pardon the participants.’
Kobakhidze stated that according to research, over 80% of Georgia’s population support the transparency of non-governmental organizations, with over 60% directly supporting the draft law ‘On the Transparency of Foreign Influence.’
‘Whether you repeal it, amend it, or not, this law has become a symbol. Your actions, your words, the violence you inflict on society – it’s all very Russian. These are the methods that we thought were in the past, but you are reviving them. Even the prime minister’s speech preceding mine is Russian. And no one in this country will return to this Russian state,’ declared Salome Zourabichvili.
She explained that yesterday, Georgia [during the May 11th rally] once again demonstrated to the world ‘decisively, peacefully, convincingly’ that it will not allow its European future to be questioned, nor will it allow the ‘Russian law’.
According to Salome Zurabishvili, it’s ridiculous when politicians pretend to have high IQs but can’t even count the number of people at a rally.
“It’s quite ridiculous when politicians pretend to have high IQs but can’t even count the number of people present. There’s no need for counting. Everyone saw the community that’s truly preparing for tomorrow. The government, on its part, demonstrated confusion. It showed that it has no strategy in the face of such a crowd, except for the strategy that is characteristic of a government that no longer enjoys the people’s trust,” said the president.
Salome Zourabichvili urges opponents of the bill to “be very cautious.” According to her, the speeches of Georgia’s prime minister suggest that the “Georgian Dream” plans to “provoke” participants in the protests.
“I want to address you [protesters] to make you aware, as it’s also stated in the prime minister’s speech and in some other remarks, that there are some plans that won’t actually work out, but there are plans to provoke. So I want you to be very cautious, and it’s not about fear, it’s about caution. The society of Georgia is showing that we are worthy of a free, democratic, and European future,” said the president.
